A Thousand Situations
by Maped13
Summary: Okay. So not a THOUSAND situations, but still a collection of HiruMamo one-shots.. Thank you Jillian Leonhart for the title! Updated, after two years. It's Mamori's birthday! How is she celebrating? Dedicated to sakurenjiDREamer.
1. The last Dance

The Dance

It was that time of the year again. Mamori hates this time. It was time for the school's festival. She doesn't hate the festival itself, but the folkdance. Her adoring fan gets crazier and crazier every year. Every boy in Deimon wants her to be his partner. Imagine 300 boys follow you around day and night just to ask you to some stupid dance. It's irritating! That's why she never accepts any of them. But they just won't quit. Everyday for the past two weeks she's been followed around by boys acting like rabid dogs. Every morning she would find love letters in her locker. The only place safe for her was the clubhouse. No boy, no _student_ has ever been near the clubhouse. Probably because Hiruma's always there.

It was late. She stayed behind longer until all her fans were gone. She was really tired. So, she decided to rest a bit. She lounged at the sofa in the clubhouse. She took a long breath and let out a sigh.

"Got something on your mind, manager?" A familiar, hoarse voice startled her.

"Hi..Hiruma-kun? What are you doing here?"

"Shouldn't _I_ be asking you that?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I'm..kinda…sorta…hiding…?" She blushed and looked down.

"From those freaks that were chasing you all day?"

"Yeah.."

"Kekeke.. Look who's popular…"

"Mou..Hiruma-kun.. I'm not popular!"

"Sure you're not. Now go home. It's really late. Besides, there's no one else outside." He said and pointed at the door. She nodded and grabbed her things.

"G'nite Hiruma-kun." She smiled.

"Whatever."

The next day wasn't any different from the day before. Every boy in school was chasing her.

"Anezaki-san! Please be my partner for the folkdance!"

"NO! Be my partner, Anezaki-san!"

"Hey! I asked her first!"

The guys began to quarrel over her. Why must she be cursed with beauty? Every guy in school is- Wait. Not every guy. An idea began to take form in her brain.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you guys, but I'm already going with someone." She said calmly.

"WHAAT??!!" They all said in unison. Their jaws almost dropped to the ground.

"Who is it, Anezaki-san? I'll change his mind!" A guy said.

"I'm not sure you can. He's..kinda stubborn. Okay, I, uh…gotta go to class, guys. See you later." She laughed nervously. Not really sure where this was going. She quickly struggled herself out of the crowd of disappointed guys and headed to class. In class, she saw Hiruma sitting on his desk, typing away on his laptop. She sat on her desk, which was directly behind him, and tapped on his shoulder.

"Ne, Hiruma-kun. Are you going to the folkdance at the end of the festival?"

"Tch. I thought you knew me better than that, fucking manager." He popped his bubblegum.

"You're not?"

"Of course not." He was starting to sound exasperated.

"Not even with me?"

He whipped his head towards her, looking almost shocked. She was blushing, hoping for a yes. Suddenly, to her surprise, he burst out into laughter. Her eyes widened and she smacked his arm. This was not going as planned.

"Hey! I'm serious!" She blushed harder, now because of anger.

"Kekeke! Never thought you had the guts to ask me, fucking manager! I thought guys were supposed to ask the girls, not the other way around. Kekeke!"

"So..Is that a yes then?"

"Don't think I don't know what you're real plan is. You're just asking me because you probably said something about somebody already asked you to the dance to those fans of yours and because, other than the Amefuto team, I'm the only guy who's not following you around like a lovesick puppy, you decided to ask me. Am I right?" He cackled. His analysis ability could put together the pieces in a flash.

"So?! Come on Hiruma-kun… If the other guys see me without a date they'll think I've lied to them."

"You _did_ lie to them. And besides, why would I want to go to the folkdance?" He grinned and stood up. He closed his laptop and walked out of the classroom, still laughing slightly.

"Hiruma-kun! Class is about to start! Where are you going?!" She shouted. But, Hiruma didn't seem to hear her. Yeah, right. He could hear someone whisper from 3 yards away. He probably ignored her, typical Hiruma. She sighed once again and rested her head on the table. '_**What am I going to do… I could ask Sena. But he's probably going with Suzuna-chan. Monta? I have a reputation to uphold! Kurita-san? I don't think he dances very well. I could ask one of the Huh-huh brothers. Yeah, I'll go ask Jumonji-kun later.**_'

"My God… What am I going to do…" She let out a long sigh. She was on her way to go to the clubhouse when she saw Jumonji-kun being asked by a very pretty girl. He seemed to have agreed to her. _**'Oh, come on… Who else am I gonna ask? The other two Huh-Huh brothers are..hopeless..'**_ She was starting to feel desperate. _**'Should I really ask Monta-kun? He's nice..but he's not exactly the guy who I want to go to the folkdance with..'**_

The day went by surprisingly quiet. No more guys followed her. Practice also went by calmly, other than the fact that Hiruma-kun just bought a new gun and used Sena and Monta-kun as target practice. She stayed back at the clubhouse to organize the new data about Ojou, she cleans when she has something on her mind. She was realigning the folders when the door to the clubhouse opened. _**'Who would come here at this time?'**_ She thought. She peered a little from behind the folder rack and saw Hiruma slowly walking in. He sat down at the table and took a long sigh. He tilted his head back and covered his head with his hand. She heard him say some curses under his breath. _**'Wonder what's wrong with him…'**_ She thought. He opened his laptop and started opening some files. Funny, he wasn't writing like he usually does. He smiled slightly and his gaze softened.

"Hiruma-kun?" She said, walking from behind the folder rack. He was startled, but didn't panic. The files he was opening were all closed in one swift move. But she saw he was looking at some pictures. Pictures of some girl. Who strangely look a lot like her. He aloofly stared at her.

"Are you here every night? I thought you took care of your little pest problem."

"I was reorganizing the files. What are you doing here?"She questioned him back.

"I practically live here, fucking manager. Kekeke…" He teased.

"Really? I don't believe you. Tell me why you're really here." She raised an eyebrow.

"Shut up and go home, manager. It's late." He looked back at his laptop and started typing.

She crossed her arm and huffed a breath of exasperation. She grabbed her things and headed to the door.

"See you tomorrow then, Hiruma-kun." She smiled. Hiruma just nodded and she left. It's funny how they always meet there at night. The next day was the last day of the school festival. The folkdance was going to be held later that night. She still hasn't found a partner yet. _**'Darn that Hiruma! This is all his fault, he always ruins everyone's plans! Oh, well. I guess I just have to skip this year's folkdance then.'**_ With that thought in her head, she went on her day like nothing was wrong. Then nighttime fell.

"Partners for the folkdance part of the festival please get ready! The event will start in a few moments!" The principal announced on stage. Rather than being seen without a date, she went to the school's rooftop, hoping it was open. Unlikely though, the teachers don't like it when students go to the rooftop, much less on the last day of the school festival. But, strangely, it was open. As if somebody was already there. She could see a very familiar silhouette looking over the railing.

"Hiruma-kun? Is that you?" The man looked back slowly, revealing the face shone by the light from the bonfire below. He grinned.

"Aren't you supposed to be down there, fucking manager?" He gestured with his head.

"I thought you knew. I don't have any partner, remember?" She rolled her eyes.

He chuckled and she walked toward him. From there they could see the students dancing around the bonfire. Sena was with Suzuna, Jumonji was with the girl from yesterday, and even Ishimaru had a date. Wait, who's the girl? Mamori had never seen her before. She smiled while looking at Sena and Suzuna. They looked cute together. Monta was stuffing his face with chocolate covered bananas and looking disappointed. Probably because he didn't have a partner.

"Why didn't you look for another partner?" Hiruma broke the silence. She was actually getting used to it.

"Dunno. Just didn't want to I guess." She stretched her arms to the sky. He just popped a bubblegum and continued to stare at the people down below. A slight smirk formed on his lips occasionally, as if he had just seen something funny. They both stayed in the quiet for a while. Accompanied only by the music from below. Both of them don't really mind the silence. She never realized how people watching could be kinda fun.

"Is this where you go when you're not at class?"

"Yup. Being here helps me think. It's…quiet here." He turned around and pressed his back against the railing. He put another stick of gum into his mouth.

"Not so quiet now, is it?" She giggled.

"Actually, the music's kinda soothing…" He popped a bubble. His lips tugged into a thin smile.

"Huh. Never thought you were the type that likes music, HIruma-kun." She chuckled slightly.

"There's a lot you don't know about me, manager."

"Oh, puh-lease. Stop being all mysterious around me!" She finally burst into laughter.

"There's still time for one more dance! For those who haven't joined yet, join now! I repeat, it's the last dance of the night!" One of the teachers announced.

An awkward silence fell between them. It wasn't the kind of silence she likes. She was about to start a conversation when he asked a very un-Hiruma-like question.

"So…You wanna dance?" She chuckled and took his hand. Below them, Sena and Suzuna smiled at one another.

"So, You-nii finally gave in to Mamo-nee, huh?" Suzuna giggled.

"Who knew he dances so well." Sena said. And they both continued to dance.


	2. Have faith

It was almost time for practice. Mamori was going to her locker to change her shoes. She saw him leaning against a row of lockers. She approached her locker normally. An envelope was given to her.

"It's some plays for the game. I thought you should have it before the game. Open it when it comes to that." He didn't dare to look into her eyes.

"By that, you mean when Hiruma-kun is unconscious from a serious injury, right?" She was disappointed. Very disappointed. She held back the tears forming in her eyes.

"If you already know then don't ask." He replied coldly. This was the best choice for the team. Suddenly he heard a sound of paper being torn. He looked at the source of the sound. The envelope he gave her was already ripped to pieces. He was furious.

"You fucking manager!" He yelled. He looked up and saw teardrops falling onto her cheek.

"I know I could get fired as a manager for this, but I tore the papers without reading it. That way you can't get seriously injured." She left him standing in the empty locker room. Tears still gleaming down her cheek. How could he do that to her? To the team! She knew there was a good chance of him being tackled by Gaou, but he didn't need to give up this soon. It wasn't like him to rely on hopelessness like this. He had always persevered even when the chances were only 0.0001%.

They didn't talk that whole afternoon. Aside from the practice commands, Hiruma was pretty quiet. So was Mamori. She only talked to Suzuna occasionally. Every one in the team knew they were having a fight. Even those who didn't spy on them earlier with Suzuna. When practice was over, everybody took a shower and quickly went home. They didn't want to be in the middle of their fight. Mamori stayed behind as usual to pick up the dirty laundry and tidy up the place. She was sweeping the floor when the door opened, revealing the quarterback in his protective gear. Much like in the locker room earlier today, only a lot sweatier. He put down his helmet on the table and began taking off the gear. He put his stuff in his locker and closed the locker door with a bang. He stood there staring at her for a few seconds and snarled angrily.

"That's it! I wanna know what the hell is wrong with you, fucking manager!" He grabbed her arm and spun her around. She dropped her broom and stared menacingly at his eyes.

"You wanna know what's wrong with me? It's you! You're what's wrong with me!" She shouted back. She once again held back the tears forming in her eyes.

"Me? Why me? You're the one who's been ignoring me all afternoon!" He loosened his grip on her arm a little after seeing her watery eyes.

"You're just gonna give up from the beginning! You're not even gonna try! Don't you have any faith in the team at all?" Drops of tear began falling from her eyes.

"What the fuck are you blabbering on about?" He lowered his voice slightly.

"That envelope, earlier today. You gave it to me because you don't trust the team! You don't believe the line can protect you, do you?" She blurted out.

"You don't understand! It was the only way! There's a 100% chance that Gaou will knock me unconscious, or worse, break my arm! If I'm gone, I had to pass on my strategies to someone!"

"Why can't you just admit that you don't trust them!"

"Why is it so hard to talk to you?!! It's not them that I don't trust! It's me!"

"What?"

"Look, you know I'm not the strongest guy out there. Even that fucking Banba got seriously injured! Think logically, manager! If Banba got injured, think what he could do to me!"

"Hiruma-kun…" She didn't know what to say. He was right.

"Do you get it now? And you had to tear the envelope to pieces!"

She stayed quiet. Hiruma did too. An awkward silence fell between them. She suddenly started sobbing.

"Hey. Hey! Why are you crying?! Stop it!" He tried to stop her. But she just cried harder.

"I'm…sorry…." She said in between her crying. He didn't know what to do, so he pulled Mamori closer and held her in his arms.

"What the fuck are you apologizing for? Don't fuss over something that's already been done, fucking manager." He tried his best to calm her down. He touched her hair gently.

"Stop crying." He said sternly, but gentle at the same time. After a few long minutes of crying, she finally calmed down enough to talk. She pushed away from his grip.

"I'm sorry I acted without thinking. You must've worked hard on those plays you gave me. And I tore them apart thinking that you didn't have any faith in the team."

He grinned. He was about to say something when the door to the clubhouse was opened. It was Sena. He peeked inside and said in a hushed tone,

"Mamo-nee? Are you still here? I left my shirt here…"

Mamori wiped the remaining tears on her face and faced Sena.

"Sena-kun.. Don't worry, I'll wash it for you.." Her voice was groggy and hoarse. Sena knew immediately that she had been crying. He stepped inside and saw Mamori with puffy eyes. Sena was worried.

"Mamo-nee? Have you been crying? What's wrong?"

By then, Hiruma had already grabbed all his things and he was ready to go home. He walked over to where Sena was standing and said something to him.

"Make sure she gets home safely, fucking chibi." After he said that, he walked out of the clubhouse and went home. Inside the clubhouse, Mamori was still hiccupping from all the crying.

"Mamo-nee.. What's the matter?" Sena approached her. Mamori shook her head and smiled weakly.

"Nothing," she said. "Everything's fine Sena-kun."

"Okay then.. Let's go home.."

"Yeah.."

When the game against the Hakushuu Dinosaurs finally came, she couldn't help but worry. But when the game was about to start, Hiruma signaled something to her.

'Have faith in the team, right?'


	3. That cheesy line

She was terrified. But her motherly instinct took over and she rushed to protect Suzuna from Gaou. Gaou came rushing right at her. He wasn't after her of course, but you could still feel the dark and menacing. Mamori closed her eyes in reflex. Suzuna was in her arms. Suddenly, she felt something blocked out the light. She opened her eyes warily, and there he was. Hiruma was standing tall in front of her, holding a few stun guns between his long fingers. He looked unafraid, calm and collected. Blowing a bubble as he did that. Was he protecting them? He looked like he was. He looked ready to take down anything that came their way. Why did he do that?

She couldn't stop thinking of him after that day. The scene kept repeating itself in her head. The image of him standing in front of her, protecting her was burned in her brain. She couldn't think of anything else. Ever since that event, she noticed everything about him. How he breathes, how he chews his gum, how he stroked his hair after every practice. She just couldn't get him out of her head. Was she falling for him?

That night, before she went to sleep, that scene was played back in her head. She remembered every detail of it.

_**Flashback**_

After Gaou went back to his team and everything was calm again, Hiruma looked back at the two girls behind him.

"Are you okay?" A simple three-word sentence, but it was full of concern he never showed to the team. His worry was reflected in his eyes.

"Yeah. Are you okay, Suzuna-chan?" Mamori said to the frail little girl in her arms.

"I'm okay, Mamo-nee."

"Tche. Fucking caveman went on a rampage." He spat out his gum and put a fresh stick in his mouth.

They both stood up, but Mamori felt a sting on her left leg. She took a look and realized that her knee was bleeding. She just shrugged it off and brushed the dust from her clothes. Suzuna went over to the other cheerleaders, but Mamori just stood there. The pain was starting to come to her. It was a lot painful than it looks. The wound was bleeding a lot too. She searched her pockets for a handkerchief or a bandage. Suddenly, a handkerchief was handed to her. She trailed up the hand that was holding the handkerchief and found the devilish quarterback looking away.

"Wipe that blood off." Mamori took the handkerchief and wiped the blood from her knee. She handed him back the handkerchief but he already walked away.

"Hiruma-kun! Your-"

"Keep it." He said indifferently from a few feet away. Mamori gazed at his back and said silently,

"Thank you."

_**End flashback**_

The next morning, when she arrived at the school, she went immediately to the clubhouse. She opened the door and saw Hiruma already there. She was surprised to see him there. Usually, she was the first one to arrive at the clubhouse.

"Hiruma-kun? What are you doing here so early?" He looked up from the laptop screen and smirked.

"Nothing. Just got up earlier today than usual." He popped a bubble and looked back at the laptop screen. Her heart was beating furiously. She was alone in the clubhouse with him! But then she realized, she was alone with him after every practice. This scene didn't seem that special anymore. She walked over to her locker and opened it. She rummaged through it, looking for her blazer. After a few minutes she realized that she had left it at home. The cold air was getting to her and she sneezed.

"Where the fuck is your blazer?" His question startled her.

"I left it at home." She sneezed again. Suddenly something was draped over her. It was warm and it smelled like gunpowder and something delightfully masculine.

"Wear that." Hiruma said. Mamori blushed and wore the blazer. The size and model was different from hers, but it kept her warm. Mostly because it had just been worn by him, so his body heat lingered on it.

"Thanks, Hiruma-kun."She said softly and smiled.

"Whatever. Next time wear your own blazer." But in spite of the harsh tone, she could still understand the meaning behind the sentence. 'As long as you're not cold, you can wear my blazer.'

"Why can't you be this nice to every one else, Hiruma-kun?" She blurted out. He cackled a bit.

"Kekeke.. Because, I don't want to." It was a simple answer.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not nice to them because I don't want to be nice to them. What's so confusing about that?"

"But you're nice to me."

"That means, I wanna be nice to you. Sheesh,I thought you were the smart one." He was starting to sound exasperated.

"Why?"

"You know, you ask a lot of questions! It's annoying!"

"Why don't you just answer it?" She put a hand on her hip and demanded an answer. He grunted and closed his laptop.

"If I answer it will you shut the fuck up?" He glared at her. She nodded and he stood up.

"This is why." He pulled her close and kissed her. She was flabbergasted. His lips were warm and soft. His hands moved to her waist and pulled her even closer. Her eyes fluttered close and her hands snaked up his neck. They broke the kiss after a few minutes.

"Hiruma-kun.."

"Hnn?"

"I like you."

"Isn't that supposed to be my line?" He smirked.

"Shut up. Ever since you protected me from Gaou, I-"

"Don't say that cheesy line."

"What cheesy line?"

"That I-couldn't-stop-thinking-about-you-line."

"Hey! It's not cheesy!"

"Yes it is."

"No it's not! It's true!"

"Say something like, 'Oh, Hiruma-sama. I love you and I will follow you to the ends of the earth!'." He cackled.

"I will not do such thing!" She hit his shoulder and smiled.

"Then what about this, 'Hiruma-kun. I agree to be your girlfriend, and I will not stuff my face with creampuff behind your back anymore.'." He grinned. She blushed in embarrassment.

"I do not stuff my face with creampuff behind your back!"

"Okay then, if you're not going to say any of these lines, I'm just gonna leave now." He walked away casually. She grabbed the back of his shirt and stopped him from going away.

"Fine! Hiruma-kun I agree to be your girlfriend and-" He quickly turned around and hugged her tightly.

"That was all I needed to hear." He whispered in her ear.


	4. Who do you think it was?

A/N: In this story, Hiruma and Mamori are already dating,but nobody knows about it yet, so, I hope it makes sense. By the way, thank you very much for the title, Jillian Leonhart! OMG! I forgot to study!! T,T

Who do you think it was?

"Mamori!" Ako, a classmate of Mamori, yelled from the end of the hallway. Mamori looke at her and smiled.

"What is it, Ako-chan?" Ako finally caught up to her. She was out of breath and panting.

"I heard something about Hiruma!" Her face was flabbergasted. Mamori looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What about him?"

"A friend told me that a friend told him that a friend told her that she saw Hiruma holding hands with a girl in front of the school. She couldn't see her face because it was dark, but the girl was definitely a Deimon student! Imagine! Hiruma dating a girl!" Ako finally blurted out. Ako's face was still in shock, but Mamori stayed calm.

"Mamo?" Ako asked.

"What?"

"Aren't you even a bit surprised?"

"Oh. Yeah, sure! Of course I'm surprised!"

The both of them continued to walk to class. In her heart, Mamo laughed. What they didn't know was the girl Hiruma was holding hands with was her. 'Oh… The irony…' She thought. She talked about how Hiruma was annoying and how horrible he was and blah blah blah… In truth, she was dating him and nobody knew about it.

It was the end of the day and Ako and some of her friends stayed behind to see the girl Hiruma was dating. They stayed behind until the sun was down and the football practice was over. One by one, the member of the Deimon Devil Bats team went home.

"Where is Mamori?" One of the curious spies asked.

"Maybe she stayed behind so she could see the girl Hiruma's dating too!" Another one said.

Not long after they made speculations, Hiruma and Mamori stepped out of the clubhouse. What they saw was very, VERY, shocking. Hiruma was holding Mamori's hand in his and both of them laughed and walked together. The 'spies' watched from behind the bushes with wide eyes and jaws dropping to the ground.

The next morning, Ako and some of the 'spies' from the night before immediately confronted Mamori about the incident.

"Mamori! We saw you last night with Hi-HI-Hiruma! Tell me you're not dating him!" Ako said.

"Uh... Actually…"

"So what if she is?! YA-HA-!!!!" A round of bullets was shot and everybody ducked. Only one person in the world could make such a 'grand' entrance. Hiruma, the devil himself.

"Hiruma-sama!!" They shrieked in fear. Hiruma headed over to Mamori's seat and took an aim at those who were confronting her.

"Hiruma-kun! Stop that!" She pushed his hand down. Surprisingly, Hiruma complied. She stood up and dragged Hiruma along with her. The other students just stared at the awkward scene before them. Ako snapped out and she shouted to Mamori,

"So the girl Hiruma was holding hands with was you all along??"

Hiruma and Mamori whipped their heads back and both of them cackled. Well, Hiruma cackled, Mamori giggled. And Mamori said in between her giggle,

"Who do you think it was?" With that said, Mamori and Hiruma continued to stroll along the hallway together, leaving their classmates in total shock.


	5. Three Two One

Hello! For all of you that listed my story in their story alert, I THANK THEE. Really, I appreciate it. It makes me want to write again. And thanks to sakurenjiDREamer I got my spark back! Oh, I also advise you to read this story with the ¾ setting. Enjoy. =D

"Three… Two… One…"

She whispered sleepily. Already in her pyjamas, she was ready to go to bed. Her eyelids were getting heavier and heavier by the second. But tired as she was, she didn't want to go to sleep. Not yet at least. The digital alarm clock on her bedside table changed its digits to 00:00. It was official.

"Happy birthday to me." she said softly. Now she was ready to go to sleep. It's a quirky little tradition she started when she was just a little girl, saying "Happy birthday" to herself. Her eyes began to close and she was slowly drifting off. That was, until her phone rang.

Frowning, she stretched her hand out to grab her phone out of her drawer. The caller ID simply said "Unknown Number".

"Who would call at such an ungodly hour?" she thought to herself. She considered rejecting the call and going back to bed, but she just didn't have the heart. What if it was an emergency?

"Hello?" her voice came out rather groggy.

"Fucking manager, open your window." This was no emergency, she knew that much.

"What? No! Do you know what time this is?"

"Well, duh! Who do you think I am? An idiot? Now just shut up and open your goddamned window! It's getting fucking cold out here!"

She hung up. It's not her fault he was out there when winter is just around the corner. So she sat back on her bed and pulled back the comforter.

Her phone rang again. This time she was wide-awake and irritated.

Keeping her voice calm, she answered it, "What is it Hiruma-kun?"

"Open. Your. Goddamned. Window. Manager."

She sighed and walked over to her window, phone still on her ear.

"Okay, hold on a second."

Who she saw was Hiruma, sitting on branch of the tree that was in front of her window. His grin was spread across his face.

"Happy fucking birthday, manager."

"Wha- Hiruma-kun wha-"

She didn't get to finish her question because she was cut off by all of her Deimon friends standing by the tree.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMORI!"

Everybody was there. Sena, Suzuna, Kurita, Musashi, the Huh-Huh brothers. Everybody. Some were holding out boxes wrapped with colourful paper and with ribbons on them. Her eyes started watering. She covered her mouth with both of her hands and muffled a squeak.

Hiruma was still sitting on the branch, his eyes softened a bit. Just a bit.

"Get out here and let's party!" He shouted. Everybody cheered enthusiastically. Mamori quickly grabbed her robe off her chair and ran out of her dorm room. Oh, they were definitely waking a couple of people up. She hasn't seen them for a while, with university getting in the way and all that. Still, she never would have expected them to go through all this trouble just to surprise her. And what a surprise it was. Never in a million years, would she ever think that she was going to celebrate her 18th birthday like this.

When she got there, Sena and Suzuna were holding out a cake. Precisely eighteen candles were alight on top of it. Hiruma then jumped off of the tree and landed without a sound. Only the dead leaves beneath his feet rustled a bit. Mamori couldn't help but smile at everybody there. She beamed, simply beamed. Even with the dim candlelight they could all still see the tears forming in her eyes.

"Make a wish and blow out the candles, Mamo-nee!"

"Suzu-chan, Sena… Everybody… You didn't have to do this." She sniffled.

Sena smiled, "We didn't have to. We wanted to."

"You guys…"

Tears were rolling down her cheeks now.

"Just blow out the damn candles, fucking manager! It's melting on to the cake!"

Hiruma was now standing beside her. Gesturing her to hurry up and get on with it. She drew in a breath…

…and blew.

Everybody cheered. They proceeded to hug Mamori and wishing her a happy birthday. Hiruma on the other hand, pulled out a detonator of some sorts and his hand was ready to press the button.

"Now for the main attraction…"

The sky lit up with dozens of different colours. The dead of night became as bright as the Fourth of July. Fireworks. Tons of them. The Deimon High School Football Team just stared up at the sky in awe. Only Hiruma could put on a fireworks display this big without a permit. The display went on for what seemed like an awful long time. Nobody said a word, they all just stood there and watched.

"YA-HA!"

As if broken out of a trance, the rest of them joined Hiruma in cheering, including Mamori. She laughed, screamed and cried at the same time. This was definitely the best birthday celebration she had ever had. And who else was responsible?

Mamori went around and hugged everybody there. Telling them how much she had missed them. She wasn't lying either. The sight of them all together made her think of how happy she was during high school. She was still happy of course, but there was something about seeing them all eating, talking, essentially being happy together that just made her feel warm inside. She was certain that the sound of the fireworks going off alone had woken half of the town up. Now the sound of the rowdy boys partying was definitely going to wake up everybody on campus grounds. Yet, she couldn't care less. They will always be 'her' team, 'her' family, 'her' closest set of friends, even if they had gone their different paths now.

And the cake was awesome, too. The filling was the same filling as Kariya's creampuffs! She hadn't had that for ages. She should really thank whoever thought of that idea.

"This cake is amazing!" Kurita's voice could be heard from somewhere in the middle of the crowd.

"I know right! Who ordered this cake?"

"I don't know Mamori-san. Hiruma organized everything. He just called me to be here by midnight."

"Really? Me too! Although, You-nii did say to bring plates and blankets. I guess he knew we were going to picnic out here in the middle of the night." Suzuna chirped in.

After finishing her last (third, it's her birthday. Give the lady a break.) piece of cake, Mamori got up and walked over to Hiruma. He was leaning against the very tree he was on before. When he saw here coming he smirked.

"Like the surprise, manager?"

She could feel her lips forming a smile against her will.

"Yes. Yes, I did actually."

"Good." He sounded a bit smug. Honestly though, when doesn't he sound smug?

"Thank you, Hiruma-kun."

He certainly did not expect her to stretch out her arm like that. Warning him not to do this sort of stuff again, maybe, but definitely not this. Not her holding out both of her arms, waiting for a hug. He could see one of her eyebrows quirked up. So he stepped up and wrapped his arms around her waist awkwardly. She completed the hug by wrapping her own arm around his neck.

"Thank you so much, Hiruma-kun." She whispered in his ear.

"You're fucking welcome, ke ke ke ke…"

He tightened the hug. They held each other just a little longer than a normal hug. Just enough for her to feel him smirk against her hair and just enough for him to imprint the feeling into his brain. They stepped away from each other albeit a little uneasily. His hands moved to her forearms and held her in place.

"And the cake was delicious! I didn't know Kariya's made birthday cakes."

"They don't. Ke ke ke ke. I had to…persuade the head patisserie into making that fucking cake. He was more than willing to help." His smirk turned into something more like a very cocky grin. He was definitely pleased of himself.

"You didn't threaten him did you?" She cocked an eyebrow.

"Hell no." Of course he did.

"Hiruma-kun?" She crossed her arm, making Hiruma let go of them.

"I said I persuaded him. It's between that damn patisserie and me. Your job is to devour that fucking piece of cake with fatso over there."

He turned her around and pushed her towards the direction of Kurita. She was never one to just blindly follow orders, though. She turned back on her heels.

"Whatever you did, give him my compliments."

"Done."

Mamori opened her mouth, but was cut-off by someone tugging on her robe.

"Mamo-nee, I have to go home. My mom found out I sneaked out."

Behind Suzuna was Sena. He flashed Mamori an apologetic look and said, "I should probably walk her home. Happy birthday Mamori-neechan."

After both of them gave a quick hug to Mamori, they went home.

One by one all of them said goodbye to Mamori. It was nearly dawn when Juumonji dragged a drunken Togano with him and wished Mamori a last birthday wish. Well, at least they cleaned up after themselves. Mamori was tired; she didn't want to spend her morning cleaning up the aftermath of a party. She let out a yawn. She's going back to bed; she can probably afford to sleep a couple more hours.

"Aren't you going back to your dorm, Hiruma-kun?"

The man she was talking to stopped in his tracks. He was grinning.

"Why? I can always go back to yours." Grinning still, but he didn't look like he was joking.

Mamori's cheeks turned pink for a split second, before turning back to her usual pale shade. She held out a hand and he took it.

"Come on then."

His step fell in line with hers and together they walked into the dorm. Her head leaned slightly on his shoulder. Once in her room, Hiruma let go of her hand. He stopped just outside her door. She turned around to look at him, her expression indicated she was confused.

"Go back to sleep, I have somewhere else to go."

"But-"

She was cut off again. She was cut off a lot today. But this time it was by his lips touching her forehead lightly.

"Happy fucking birthday, fucking girlfriend." He smirked.

With that said, he walked off. Mamori was left blushing and with her heart beating like crazy.

"Thank you."


End file.
